J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Right anchor for j30?

The people that I know around here in Seward Alaska claim that Rocna is the best anchor for the area. That is for example with high and deep fjords with lots of sedimentary shale. West Marine stocks 13lbs and 22lbs Rocna anchors and on up from there. What weight do other more experienced J30 owners suggest? A downside to a heavier anchor is it is harder to pull up over the years.

I had good experience with the Fortress FX-16 aluminum anchor with 6 feet chain for use in New England. It stowed in the anchor locker and was manageable to deploy. For cruising you may want to add more chain to help keep the anchor sitting flat, with the appropriate line scope 5 to 7 times the water depth.

My Danforth 12S has been flawless. Here in BC it is similar anchoring conditions to Alaska I would think. Deep and limited ability for scope.

I think it is more important to carry more chain vs a heavier anchor itself. Even send down a kellet on the rode where you expect holding to be marginal. I had 30' of 5/16" chain up until this last cruising trip I added another 26' so I now have 56' of chain. In the mud, the Danforth sets really easily and almost completely disappears under the surface. The bonus is that it weighs hardly anything compared to a Rocna or CQR.

A lot of people around here also use Bruce anchors, but if I were to buy a second type it would probably be a plow type like a Rocna or Delta.